MLTOH,; W. T. INT2RVIIW ' 4 6l *

Transcription

1 MLTOH,; W. T. INT2RVIIW ' 4 6l * 150

2 - " HKHHi t» % XMUfllKft Form A-(S-149) BIOGRAPHY FORM WORKS PROGRESS ADMiNISTRATION Indian-Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma Workor-* s name LliiilS < This report made on (date) 1. Name W# f«post Office Address AaaftWta> # 3. Residence address (or location) &L6 Wi«t OKI 4. DATE OF BIRTH: Month frtawmgy Day? Year 5. Place of birth 6. Name of Father QNl MtltOft Place of birth Other informat ion about father 7. Name of Mother murj^* *~** Place of birth S Other information about mother Notes or corxpl^te narrative by the field worker dealing with the life and story of tho person interviewed, Rofcr to Manual for suggested subjects and questions. Continue on blanis shcttr- if necessary and attach firmly to this form. Number of sheets attached 6 '.

3 MELTCff, W. T. 152 Mr. lleltoa was a Texas Ranger, then a ocw hand. Be aade POP short drive on the old Chisholtt Trail, Bs lives la iaadarloo, at this tint* FATHER Ob* Helton was bora in Mississippi In 1856, MOTHER Martha Leaon Mil ton was bora la Missouri la Mr* Meltoa does not know the date on which either of his parents died* S» first time I eaae to Oklahoma was in 1875* X was niaeteea or twenty years old* Z esne with a herd of oattl*, along the old Chishola Trail* I left the outfit orer east of Chiofcasha eontwhere* aad with another boy went back to Saa Aatonlo* At iilght we would stop at some raaeher*s house, stay all night* aad the next day get the wosaaua of the house to bake va sons biscuits, which we would take with us* Whan neal tiiae cams we would broil our bacon over a camp fire biscuit aad be well satisfied* and eat baooa aad ooli la oase we didn't have a natch, we sonetiaes would eat our baooa raw* I don't reneaber who owned those oattls now, nor where they were going, but Z OHM as far as east of Chidkasta* Not long after this Z can* back to Oklahoma and weat to work for ol* Mta Andy Ad41agtea» over elose to Arteore*

4 MLTQUW* T«153 E There were no settlements around there then* The white owned cattle bat the Indiana held the o&ttle for then* Jim (Seines was a Ghiekasaw Indian, and Addingtcn*8 son*in* law* Ee held Addington'a cattle, rhe Chlefcasa* Indians were afraid of the Wild Tribes* I believe Addington was United States iflarshal* There were lots of wild horses around where Duncan is now* Hustaags is what they were called. One day sane of the cattle had gotten out off froa the rest of the herd* A boy by the name of Lore, whose faoily lited ia the Tielaity* went to look for them* Be west up eroimd DmeaB locking for these oat tit* When he ease into amp there were two oolts following him* We raised tbts* oolts OA cow's silk* X guess the mothers ran off and left then* I went baefc to Texas soon after this snd joined the Texas Rangers* In 1885 I cane bade to Oklahoma and joined the ranch force on the Biaaond Tail Baneh* Galled this because of the brand it used* a diamond with a tail to it* < This Ranch was about where Ghildreos fc no** Once we tock a herd of 1500 omttls by the western Trail to the 101 ftsnoh* we left 1,000 three year old steers there end shipped th*

5 T» XfflHVXSW* rest to Galdwell* Kansas* A* the start of a drive the boss always stationed the hands e$ certain places along the line where they wrtaid all ttoou^x the trip* He placed ae as pointer on the right, and a man they called Slicky as pointer on the Oeft. Pointers were the man who guided the lead oattle. we had one stampede on this trip, but lost no cattle* Moat anything would start a stampede, such as a bad aloud or sons unusual noise* The 101 Ranch wasn't very old then emd the father of the late Miller Brothers oened it* The houses on it then were made of eottoswood logs* Miller was from the North, and didn*t brand his cattle like the southern a n did* His irons were only about two inches long* and curved just enough to fit around the baee of the horn* The brand was placed on the bade of the horn* The boys from the Dia» aond Tail Ranch made fun of Miller*s way of braiding, but they helped to do the branding* Once when branding, one steer in sons way broke loose end we had to chase it* we roped end threw this steer* 1hem we took ma? pocket knives end cut the brand on the ba& of its horn* Zt didn't show ss amen as if it had been bui%) but it was there*

6 MCftH, W* T. XMBHVXfW* There wea^e no settlements close for west of there was what vat known as HO Mm** Land, which wa«a strip of land used for hutting purposes* After all the work was done that was required om tids trip, most of 'the boys went home on the train* The oook ana Z vent back with toft chock wagoa. We crossed the North Caaadien Riyer east of Fort Supply f at Catap Supply* There was some kind of Indian school at Canton* meat. X think It was for th Cheyenne Indians* '. In 188? I aarrleft an& ease to Fort Qibson* 1 was caspiag by the river one night whea a nan who lived near*! told us to oome on up to the house and camp. AH we ^ had to to waa to hitch the team to the wagm and we were ready to go* e did this* One morning we waked up to find that the yard was fall of men end nay horses* -'We decided we were in the headqaarterb of a bmoh of thleres* I told ay wife that we ted better go far we dlfe't wait the* to take ottr horses* Ttm nan saw us getting ready to leave and asked us what we were goimg to do* X told him that X was afraid that they would take our horses* Be told as that we were perfectly safe that he had told tins to let us alone; that X was a good fallow; and he liked as* We stayed, thinking we Might be safer there ttea anywhere else*

7 MLfCeT. f* 7; UTKHV1BW, Over at Healdtoa the aov«auat&t wet putting the white people out of Oklahoma* Sbey drove then across Rod Biver* We were warned to git out by thorn pasting* X told them I'd stay until i t were foreed to gfc*^ we were never bothered* Kit Btoaty mitt iav nm oat for th«soldiers ntr«r got that far* One day I was going to town, whioii was anue distance asay 9 and aaked aa Xadlaa if it would be safe to leave trerythins* He atodied a while aad iaidi "Yea, there iaau a wmte xaaa la twenty allet*^ it raised a little oottofi voile at Tort Olbeoa* Out day Z took a load to towm to aell«tbt gixaxj&r taid that it wat Tbaaksgitlng day and they dltou do buslneea oa that day* X didft*t know what Th&ukagiYiag was, so I thought X*d go ba^: to the wagon and ask ay wife* It proved that she dldft't know either. Hoverer the oaa took the oottou It vat a Kile from where X lived at Fort Gibson that Belle Starr robbed the trail* One tint aoe was going to have a aoov in town and ve made all pxqparatioat to goj bat the baby took sltfc end to we die*** get to see Ball* Starr and her gang